


Silence Is Deafening

by DeadPerson



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, OTP Feels, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:42:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27410641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeadPerson/pseuds/DeadPerson
Summary: A belated birthday present to my dear friend Naja ❤@nadairead on TwitterEnjoy~HAPPY BIRTHDAY NAJA🎉✨🎊
Relationships: Arackniss (Hazbin Hotel) & Original Character(s)
Kudos: 4





	Silence Is Deafening

It had been 48 hours and 23 minutes since Arackniss had heard the familiar sound of Naja’s voice. It was strange that simply hearing Naja, their mundane noises like sipping coffee, or tapping at their phone, or scribbling in their sketch book had become such a normal part of his daily routine. Soft noises of coexisting with another person had become way too reassuring too fast. Arackniss had never found silence deafening before, it had always been a comfort blanket. The hug of silence meant he was safe, and security was not a luxury he was afforded often. But now the silence had become a threat, an ever-lingering reminder of what had been lost, a knife to his throat for ruining the one chance he had at…whatever it was they had. He had lost it all.  
Guzzling down the cheapest whiskey he could find Arackniss stumbled his way through the empty streets of Hell. His feet ached and burned from walking, his chest was so heavy he felt like he could not breathe, the weight of his eyelids challenged his ability to keep trudging on. He stopped staring down at his body and the sad sloppy state he was in, shirt untucked and half unbuttoned, stained with sweat and a little blood from taking out his emotions on a very bothersome brick wall. Arackniss let himself drop the bottle; he did not care about drinking anymore. He did not care about walking through the shards of broken glass. The only thing on his mind was something soft to collapse onto. His thoughtless journey had landed him two blocks away from one of the tallest buildings in Hell, the florescent glow of its sign was irritating and hurt his eyes, but he relinquished himself to wobbling towards the effervescent lights of the Happy Hotel.  
As soon as he stepped foot through the threshold of the hotel, he immediately felt his body fail. Two days of wandering aimlessly and drinking yourself stupid would eventually lead to this kind of collapse. He could barely make out the blobs that surrounded him, but the one thing he could make out was the last thing he wanted to hear, the sound of his little brother’s voice calling his name. Finally, he mumbled some barely coherent slurred words.  
“Ugh, Anthony shut the fuck up!” Then that was it; a cold, numb, blackness took hold of his consciousness leaving him again, in silence.  
A warm light graced Arackniss’ face. The sensation made him stir from his sleep. He barely opened his eyes to see a blurry image of Naja sitting on the side of their bed. Their back was turned to him, he reached up and gently ran a finger down the dorsal lines of their back. Their scales were smooth and soft, as they felt the sensation of Arackniss’ touch they turned around slightly and smiled from the corner of their mouth. “Morning.”  
Then there was pain. A dull throbbing pain that pulsated through his head and made his eyes feel swollen, and of course that irritating nasally voice. “Mornin’ ya drunk ass son of a bitch.” Angel stood above his older brother; top arms crossed with a very displeased look on his face. He immediately wished he could go back to the memory of Naja. “Way to cause a panic, I knew ya were just drunk, but Princess was worried you had gotten hurt or sick or sumthin’. Now that yer awake, mind tellin’ me what the hell you think yer doin’ flounderin’ yer way in here at all hours of the night?”  
Slowly Arackniss sat up, he had been put in a fresh pair of pajamas and any minor wounds had been patched up. He looked up to Angel, his face a mixture of annoyance and shame. “I…. Me and Naja…” He could not finish his sentence before Angel was interrupting.  
“Ya’ll got into a tiff?” His expression was extremely unamused.   
Arackniss shook his head. “It was…more than that. But eh, fuck it right? I don’t need that kinda baggage in my afterlife anyway. I got enough crap on my plate without havin’ to deal with somebody else’s bullshit.” Arackniss was putting on his best misanthropic face but Angel was having none of these shenanigans.   
“Tha fuck you talkin’ about? You got enough bullshit ta fertilize a tobacco farm. You’re one hell of a chump to talk about baggage with your fuckin’ Daddy issues.” Angel’s sassy mouth was in full throttle today and with Arackniss being under the weather, his dry sarcastic retorts were in short supply.  
“Listen it’s over alright? I had my sappy break up break down and now it’s all good. It ain’t that big-”   
Angel was tolerating exactly zero of Arackniss’ baloney this morning. “Are you really that fuckin’ stupid? You get into one heated spat and ya just give up? You’re just gonna let them go?! After decades of being let down by other people yer just gonna do the same damn thing to Naja. It’s fuckin’ pathetic. I hope they dumped your sorry ass! My pig’s shit deserves better than you as a partner.” Angel stormed out of the room in disgust. He did not really mean all the nasty things that just flew out of his mouth, but he was beyond frustrated. Angel had not seen his brother smile genuinely, like the way he did with Naja, since they were children getting into trouble on the streets of New York City. The fact that he was just going to give up on the one thing that gave him genuine happiness irked him beyond all belief. He needed a cigarette.  
Arackniss sat up in his bed, dumbfounded. After staring blankly at the door for several minutes he looked down to his hands. ‘Of course.’ He thought. ‘Of course, I’m fuckin’ stupid. I fooled myself into thinkin’ I could have that kind of happiness. I was gonna screw it up eventually.’ He clenched his fists, then looked out the window. The warm haze of morning made him feel dizzy as he stared into the sun blinding through the window, he became lost in thought.  
The taste of hot espresso in the morning was pure bliss for the small statured spider. The feeling was then amplified when sitting across from a most handsome and beautiful creature. Arackniss sipped his caffeine looking up occasionally toward his charming partner. Completely unaware, Naja sketched and scribbled notes in their sketch book. Occasionally taking a moment to sip at their own coffee. Their features had been intensified by the morning light seeping in through a near by window. High cheek bones supported the frames of their rectangular lensed glasses, their blue eyes bright and vibrant, their pale lavender skin reflecting the sunlight, in Arackniss’ eyes, they were stunning, but he could never say something so cheesy. In this moment he wanted to appreciate the feelings swelling up inside of him, but words had never been his strong suit. Instead he watched, then as Naja absent mindedly reached for a piece of toast on a plate between them, he caught their hand before it was able to grab any food morsal. He brushed his thumb across their knuckles as he held on tightly to their hand. Startled Naja looked up from their sketchbook. Their eyes met, and in the warmth comfort of the morning light and the smell of coffee, they sat across from one another, Naja returned to their sketchbook and Arackniss had picked up a newspaper, their hands laced within one another, each wore a small and soft smile.   
He sighed falling back onto his pillow. The ache of his heart had not stopped. He wanted more than anything to forget he ever met Naja, then he would not have to deal with this confusion and hurt. But if he had never met them, he would have never been able to feel the happiness they gave him. Was the pain now worth the short time of his existence he was finally happy? Running his fingers through his hair, he places another hand on his hurting chest. ‘Maybe it was.’ He thought, closing his eyes. ‘Fuck…it was. It was beyond worth it.’ Tears rolled out from the corners of his clenched eyes. ‘Fuck.’  
Arackniss had only been at the Happy Hotel for two days, but he already felt the need to get moving. While the Princess was more than hospitable, he knew eventually she would try to talk to him about staying there permanently. Redemption was far from something he aspired to achieve. He knew he deserved to be down here. The only thing stopping him from heading out post haste was the fact that he currently did not have anywhere to go. He and Naja had been living together for months, they were undoubtedly still there since Arackniss was the one to storm out. He could not go back to their place, he could not stay at the Happy Hotel much longer, the last option he saw was to go back to the family home. Something else he would rather eat sandpaper than do, but he was running out of options. He did not know how much cash he had in the bank and he refused to turn on his cellphone, for fear of seeing the inevitable.   
‘We’re done.’ ‘It’s over.’ ‘Get your shit and get the fuck out.’ ‘I never want to see you again.’  
That last one hurt the most, he was already dealing with enough suffering. He could not handle seeing something like that right now. So, the only thing he could do was go crawling back to his Daddy and beg for forgiveness like a goddamn pup that had just pissed on the carpet. Great.  
All these thoughts and lamenting was done on a small couch by the bar in the foyer of the hotel. He sat there, his elbows rested on his knees, his hands holding the weight of his head. His position was unassuming, and he was obviously so deep in thought that the Princess and her ragamuffin girlfriend talked in hushed tones only a few feet away. What they did not account for was, being a spider demon, Arackniss had very acute senses. Most of the time he could care less what the two wanted to chit chat about, but he overheard something that intrigued him.   
“Get rid of it…” Vaggie had an intense look to her expression, her hands on Charlie’s shoulders. “We can’t keep this thing here, it’s too dangerous. Not only if word got out that we had this the hotel would get swamped with all kinds of Overlords trying to take it, imagine if Angel got ahold of it…”  
Charlie seemed uncertain. “How can I just throw something like this away? If it did fall into the wrong hands imagine the devastation it could cause! An angelic blade?! I think it must be safer here. You’re the only person I’ve told that I found this. If I could just hide it somewhere secure no one else has to know, and even if Angel were to find it, I really don’t think he would have the heart to just use it indiscriminately.” Charlie clutched her chest, tears stung the back of her eyes as she thought of Angel on a rampage.  
“It isn’t other sinners I would be worried about him using it on…” Vaggie’s voiced trailed off as she looked away. She knew even the thought of Angel hurting himself was likely to send Charlie into a fit of tears.   
To Vaggie’s surprise her Princess held strong. “Then I’ll just have to hide it super well. I have to do my part to make sure this doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. I can get a cursed safe to put this in tomorrow. Tonight, it’ll just have to stay with us.” Vaggie nodded. As much as she did not want to see her girlfriend in danger, she knew she was right. Indiscriminately tossing away the one thing in Hell that could kill sinners, demons, and imps alike, was not a good idea.  
The pair ended up falling into some other conversation as they walked towards their bedroom, but Arackniss had heard everything he needed to, this was it. He was just given a diamond of an escape and he planned on taking it. This way he would never have to see Naja and face their world crushing words, he would not have to pretend that he was interested in retribution, and he wouldn’t have to go pleading to his Father. It was perfect.  
Tonight, would be his only shot to steal the blade, if the Princess got her hands on a cursed safe there was no way he could crack that stuff. Luckily, it was currently only mid-day. He had a few hours to plan his larceny. ‘Sorry Charlie.’ He thought. ‘But this is my only way out.’  
It would be far from his best heist, but it was good enough to get the job done. Arackniss had gone to bed around midnight and listened carefully. He heard Angel dragging himself into his room, he listened carefully as he heard doors shut and lights click off. Then he waited some more, an extra 2 hours to give the hotel patrons a chance to fall asleep, then he climbed out his window. Luckily, his room was on the same floor as the Princess’ suite. He carefully walked his way along the thin side molding of the building. Once he had shifted down far enough and turned a corner, he saw the window into Charlie’s room. This is where things could get sticky. He peaked through the window, between the curtains and peered into the dark void. Two bodies lay unmoving in the large king-sized bed. He watched to make sure that the two women were out cold, then he gently placed his hand on the large window. As he assessed the frame and glass, trying to decide his best way of making a silent point of entry he noticed the glass giving away under the light pressure of his hand.   
‘You gotta be kidding me…’ He pushed the window open silently. ‘I should be shocked, but I’m really not.’ He climbed his way through the window, his light feet making no sound as he stepped around the room, looking for key places to hide a precious weapon.  
After checking a closet and a few drawers Arackniss noticed a nightstand by Charlies bedside. ‘Bingo.’ He stealthily snuck over to the nightstand. Staring at Charlie’s face as he tried to open the drawer slowly and silently as possible. Then he saw it, the glimmer and gold light radiating off this small hand dagger. He took it by the hilt, slowly taking it out of the drawer. Once her got it completely out and firmly in his hand he started to back up towards the window again. He did not bother closing the drawer, the two were likely to wake up any moment now, he just needed a head start.  
Once he laid a hand on the banister of the window he immediately gave up on his espionage and jumped out the window, tucking and rolling onto the ground below. As soon as his legs were standing him upright, he took off running. No time to think about the pain of jumping out a building three floors high he needed to book it as far as his light agile legs could take him.   
The less than graceful landing immediately arouse Vaggie. She rushed immediately to the open window but saw no one below. Taking a scan of their room she immediately noticed the bedside table. “Charlie!!!”  
Charlie sat up in a panic, she too immediately looked at the drawer beside her, then over to Vaggie. “How could…Oh no, Angel?!”  
The two rushed from their bedroom around the corner to Angel’s room they banged loudly on the door, then barged in with a fury. Charlie shrieked. “Angel?!”  
Angel leapt up from his bed in a panic, then tripped and fell over off the side, he sat up on his knees looking furious. “THE FUCK IS WRONG WID YOU BROADS?!” But his anger quickly turned to concern when he saw the worried expression on their faces. “What the-”  
Angel was cut off by Vaggie’s scared tone. “If it wasn’t Angel that took the blade then who…?”  
Angel rubbed his head agonizingly. “So I assume there is a good reason for this rigmarole…”  
Charlie bent down to her knees, looking Angel directly in the eye. “I was stashing an extremely dangerous angelic weapon overnight. I was going to seal it away for good tomorrow, but I needed some supplies, now the blade is gone! It’s been stolen and I don’t know who could have possibly known that I-”  
Angel immediately saw where this was going, but his own worries came to a head when a thought struck him. “Shit! Arackniss!” Angel immediately reaches for his phone, desperately trying to call his brother’s number, it went straight to voicemail every time. “That asshole!” His voice cracked with concern. “He can’t be serious?!”  
Charlie looked horrified, holding her hands over her mouth. “There has to be something we can do! Do you have any idea where he might run off to? Where he might would want to…you know…” Her voice trailed off as she fought back tears. Maybe Vaggie was right and she should have dumped the thing, she put her patrons at risk and now Arackniss was going to erase himself.  
Angel shook Charlie by the shoulders to wake her out of spiraling. “I know that face, stop blaming yourself! Arackniss is being stupid!” Angel picked up his phone again. “I may not know where he is heading…but I bet I know someone who does…”  
Once Arackniss had sprinted about half a mile away from the hotel he slowed his pace down to a walk. Believing he was now far enough away that his brother and the others would not be able to find him, he started to leisurely make his way towards his desired location. There was an overpass not too far away that postured above a river. He liked to go there to smoke a cigar and clear his mind. The sound of rushing water was soothing, and the smell of algae and organic life was nostalgic. He knew Naja liked to go there sometimes, to draw the local plant life. Their fascination with botany was always something Arackniss found enamoring. A peaceful scene that reminded him of happier times with Naja, the perfect place to escape.  
As he wondered towards the end of it all he thought over the past few months. Blissful memories filled his head. A shy an awkward beginning, to rough and passionate expressions of want and desire, however through it all, his favorite times with Naja were the simple moments. Eating breakfast together as they both mutually inched their hands towards one another, like magnets their fingers would interlock. Finding Naja alone on the couch and sitting down close enough next to them so that his thigh touched their tail. Laying his head between their shoulder blades as they intensively studied the details of whatever still life they were examining. Those were the instances he would miss the most.   
Then the sound of rushing water filled his ears. There he was atop the overpass, he stepped onto the edge looking down to the flowing waters of the river. He nodded to himself. He knew this was the best decision. Leaving hell by these circumstances did not give him anything he did not deserve. He would no longer be around to hurt the people he cared about, he would no longer be around to be hurt by his Father or family. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then he nodded. This was really for the best, for everyone. He played with the blade, weaving it between his fingers.  
‘What’s the best way to do this?’ He thought as he watched the golden blade reflect in the moonlight. Without too much thought he pressed the knife to his throat and took another deep breath, as he began to push the blade into his neck he felt a hard impact to his ribs, shocking his senses and knocking him over. He coughed loudly trying to catch his breath. “What the-?!”  
“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!” A voice screeched, echoing into the silent cool night air. Arackniss knew that voice immediately. He looked up shocked, still short of breath.  
“Naj-!” The fit of coughs continued before he was able to finish their name. Naja stood above him mixture of disgust and anger on their face. Their glasses had been knocked off during the impact. Arackniss quickly noticed that he no longer had the blade, they did.  
“If this is how bad you wanted to get away from me then why didn’t you just break it off?!” Their anger was transforming in front of him, their shoulders started to sink, the aggression in their voice was slightly weaning. The confidence they had to tackle Arackniss was disappearing before his eyes as he watched their breath hitch into overdrive, their chest rising and falling quickly.  
Arackniss sat up finally, glaring up at them. What he wanted to do was apologize, hold them, tell them how much he missed them, but his ego could not allow for that. “How can I do something YOU already did?! You dumped me, remember?!”  
Naja clenched their fists and growled. “No! I don’t remember that! I remember us getting into an argument and you just left!” They tried to catch their breath. Arackniss could tell even though they tried to mask it; the overwhelming feelings of anger, fear, and sadness welling up inside them, he recognized it because it was exactly what he had been doing. They spoke again, voice starting to falter. “You just… kept saying things. These hurtful things over months and months! Calling me a weirdo, ridiculous, overly sensitive, annoying…If you didn’t want to be with me you didn’t have to! I wasn’t trying to keep you hostage! Then you storm out, leaving me alone at our place for DAYS! I tried texting, I even tried to call you! You know how much I hate that shit! And I got nothing! You could have at least told me it was over.”  
This is when things were starting to fit together for Arackniss. He had assumed this whole time that the argument was because Naja was tired of putting up with his asshole nature, when in reality it seemed that they feared that the harsh words and snarky insults he would throw at them, were actually how he felt about them. And when they tried to bring up the conversation, he had took it as an insult on his character and stormed off, assuming the next step was Naja breaking up with him. He felt his heart sink into his stomach, the last thing he wanted to do was make Naja, of all people, feel like a burden. “Naja…”  
“Shut up!” They interrupted, they were so good at turning off emotion and hiding behind a cold expression. If it were not so sad, it would be impressive. “The only thing I want to hear out of your mouth is you ending things! Then it’s final! Then I can leave, and I don’t have to think about this or you ever again!” They looked down at their hand holding the blade, then clutched it to their chest protectively.  
“If I had wanted things between us to be over then I would have said it already.” Arackniss was avoiding eye contact. He glared at the ground beside his hand. “I ran out, I turned off my phone, I stopped all communication, so I didn’t have to hear YOU end it. I don’t…. Fuck.” He trailed off, there was no way he could say anymore. He felt foolish and stupid, his face hot with embarrassment.   
Naja stammered slightly as they tried to make sense of all the chaos. “Then…why this?” They looked down at the glowing blade fearfully.  
“Aw geez, I don’t know Naja, maybe the idea of having you then loosing you was just too much alright?! Fuck!” His tone was vicious and angry, but Naja could sense the genuine fear behind his aggression. The two of then sat for a moment, a familiar silence falling between them. Silence, that had started this whole mess in the first place. Silence that felt like pins and needles pricking into every pore.  
At first the moment of quite felt uncomfortable, but slowly, looking at one another, the silence became an understanding. They did not want to be apart anymore. The two of them wanted to be together. Then finally, the silence broke, a familiar sound that immediately made Arackniss feel comforted. The sound of Naja’s voice. “Let’s go home.” They held out their hand to Arackniss, attempting to help them up. He stared at their hand for a moment. This was it, they were reconciling, letting go of whatever had hurt them and coming out the other end still together. But for Arackniss something still felt wrong. He was not the best with words but, maybe for Naja he could try. He took their hand yanking them down to the ground on top of them. “What the-?!” They started to exclaim, before they felt Arackniss’ arms slide around their body, holding them tightly.  
“I’m not going anywhere. Okay?” He pushed Naja’s head into his shoulder so they could not see his burning red face.  
Naja sighed, hiding their face as well. “Neither am I.” They mumbled begrudgingly. “Can we please go home now?” They lifted their head up to look Arackniss in the eyes.  
He gave Naja a small but warm smile. “Yeah. Let’s go home.” He held their face in his hands. Naja could not help but return a small smile as well.  
After a sweet moment between the two Naja sat up, grabbing the angelic blade, then holding out their hand again for Arackniss. He took it hoisting himself up. “I promised Angel I’d get this back to him. Guess we got an earned to run tomorrow.” They looked at the blade one more time, shivering slightly at the sight.  
Arackniss slid his hand into Naja’s, the two seemed to fit perfectly together. “Yeah, alright. I guess. I think the lazy ass should come pick it up himself, but whatever.” Naja shook their head, laughing slightly to themselves. The two began their trek home together, fingers laced, and hands intertwined. 


End file.
